Automatic hand held snare



United States Patent 72] Inventor Gerald E. Rosser 1449 8th Ave. S,Seattle, Washington 98168 [21] Appl. No. 724,488

[22] Filed April 26, 1968 [45] Patented Nov. 17, 1970 [54] AUTOMATICHAND HELD SNARE 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,616,123 11/1952 Armstrong FOREIGN PATENTS530,122 9/1956 Canada 43/87 891,814 3/1962 Great Britain 43/5 PrimaryExaminer- Evon C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerW. Scott CarsonAltorney-Graybeal, Cole and Barnard ABSTRACT: The snare has an elongatedtwo part body formed by an elongated first member having a handle at oneend and a cable clamp at the other end. An elongated, tubular secondmember telescopically surrounds the end portion of the first memberopposite the handle. A closed loop portion of a snare cable extendsendwise outwardly of the free end of the second member. The two endportions of the cable extend through the second member up to the clampand the clamp secures them to the first member. A compression springhoused in said second member biases the first and second memberstelescopically apart, to contract the loop. A lock, releasable by atrigger positioned adjacent the handle, holds the two memberstelescopically together in opposition to the spring force.

1 AUTOMATIC HANDHELD SNARE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION- l. Field oftheInvention This invention pertains to snares. and particularly to oweredanimal snares,(i.e. operated by means of other than manual power), suchas snares suitable forlanding fish, catching snakes, etc. in which aloop is automatically tightened around a body portion of the animal uponthe release ofa trigger.

2. Description of the 'Prior Art Known devices for landing fish includenets. gaff hooks and manually operated snares. Anct ora manuallyoperated snare is unsuitable for use by the steelhead or stream salmonfisherman because their operation require the use of'both of his hands.The stream fishermen must keep one hand free for holding the fishingrodand balancing himself while he lands the fish with the other hand. Gaffhooks require the usc'ofonly- 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTThe loop end portion 16 of cable 14 extends endwise outwardly of thefree end of section 12. The remainder of cable 14' ishoused withinsection 12. A compression spring .18, housed within section 12, normallyurges or biases the two members telescopically apart, into a positionwherein the loop is contracted.

The snare is cocked by telescopically moving the two sections 10, 12together in opposition to the force of spring 18. A

' latch 20 adjacent handle 22 serves to hold the two sections in onehand. However, a gaff hook is quite dangerous to carry operator totighten the loop, A second disadvantage is that' only one end of theband is moved to tighten the loop, necessitating a relatively largedisplacement or movement of the band to affect the degree ofloop closurethat is necessary.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,544,145, issued onMar. 6, 1951 to Fred Ellwein disclosesa spring powered snare for use in trapping mink and the like. However,such snare is neither operator held nor operator controlled from ahandle, and is not of suitable construction for landing fish or grabbinga hold ofsnakes or other animals at a distance beyond arms length fromthe operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to an animalsnare whichis automatically powered, such as by a spring, and is released by theoperator from a control trigger on the handle. The snare employs aclosedloop that is expanded when thedevice is cocked and which is tightly andquickly closed about the body of the fish or otheranimal by a biasingforce when the control trigger is actuated. The snare is elongated sothat the operator may snare the animal (e.g. a fish) while he is at adistance from it, but is lightweight so that it is easy to manipulateduring positioning ofthe loop around the animal.

The snare also employs a safety device to prevent the accidental closingof. theloop and employs, a unique arrangement for securing the loop onthe snare so that it is closed in the shortest possible time.

In a modified form of 'the device, further gripping means, such as abarb, is provided toimpale the fish as the loop is drawn tight and maybe used either to Milan animalbeing snared or merely to hold the animalmore securely.

' BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS this cocked position, as willhereinafter be described in greater detail. 9

The first member 10 is best shown in FIG. 1 and is preferablyconstructed froma'light metaltubing,'such as aluminum tubing. However,other lightweight materials, such as fiberglas, for example, may beused, and member 10 may be made from solid stock, if desired. The handle22 is preferably fitted witha hand grip (like a bicycle hand grip) madefrom rubber or plastic, which isfrictionally retained on the upper endofmember 10:

The latch 20 includes a hooked end portion 26. The latch 20jispi'vot'ally mounted on a pin between parallel ear portions against-themember 10, and is preferably retained in a well formedin member 10.

As isreadily seen, when the latch is depressed the hooked end 26 ispivoted outwardly away from the fixed member. To

prevent accidental triggering the member 10 is provided with 1 a safetydevice, shown in the form of a latch disabling ring 36. Ring 36 snuglyencircles member), butis loose enough to be rotatable by hand; Itincludes a radially thickened portion or lobe 40 (FIG; 5) which whenrotated into the position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 5 will closelyabut against the inner surface of the latch 20. With ring 36 in'theposition shown by solid lines in FIG. 5 enough clearance exists inwardlyof the latch toipermit its mo vementan amount sufficient to release thehook 26.

A plug 42 (FIG. 3) is fitted within the end ofthe member 10 opposite thehandle 22;A pair of setscrews 41 are received in radial bores formed inthe plug 42. The'setscrews do not extend radially outwardly beyond thefixed member and thus will not interfere with the sliding action oftheslldable member 12. The plug 42 is providedwith two longitudinal bores44 which receive the ends of the cable 14. The set screws 41 arethreaded into tight. engagement with the cable to securely hold Y orclamp the ends to memberQlO.

FIG. 1 is an elevational view separated into two parts due to a spacelimitation, with portions thereofin longitudinal secposition'with theloop tightened around the tail ofa fish.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of a modified form oftheinvention which includes an impaling barb.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1,and showing a safety ring in both an operative (broken line) andinoperative (solid line) positions.

An important feature of this invention lies in the fact that both endsof thecable are secured to member 10 as a result, a force on the cable16 caused by a snared object is directly felt at the handle 22.

In other words, if the op rator wishes to pull a fish out of the water.or'drag an animal over the ground or the floor of the cage, the forcesare transmitted directly between the cable and the handle. t

The tubular member 12 is also constructed from a lightweight materialsuch aluminum or fiberglas tubing, or the like-It is provided atits'upper end with an annular retainer ring48 having a beveled surface50 (FIG. 3) and an abutment surface 52. The ring 48is adapted to sliderelatively up under the hooked end 26 of latch 20 when the two sections10, 12 are telescopically moved together.

A bearing 58 of nylon or the like is fitted into the free end of member12 and is preferably held in place by setscrews 59 (FIG, 2). Hearing 58is provided with two longitudinal bores 60 through which the cable 14end portions slide. The bores are flared at their outer ends as at 62 toallow the cable to begin expanding into the loop 16.

A spreader 64 is provided to help shape the loop 16. Spreader 64comprises a pair of oppositely extending apertured ears 66, theapertures 68 of which are spaced apart a sufficient distance to causethe formation of an oval loop. By way of typical and thereforenonlimitive example, in the preferred embodiment which is particularlyuseful in landing stream salmon or steelhead, the distance between the.apertures 68 is approximately 1% inches. The spreader 64 may be securedto member 12 by a bolt 70 which passes through a stiffener 72 fittedwithin a central aperture formed in the bearing 58. The loop 16 of thecable 14 is free to form outwardly of the spreader 64 and has sufficientspace to pass between the spreader 64 and the bushing 58 when beingcocked or released.

The biasing power for closing the loop 16 is, in the preferredembodiment, the compression spring 18. Other biasing means, such ascompressed air or the like may be employed in other equipment.

As is best shown in H0. 1, the spring abuts against the plug 42 at oneend and the bushing 58 at its other end. The spring iscompressed whenthe members 10, 12 are telescopically moved together, and when suchmembers are freed the spring energy urges them telescopically apart.

FIG. 4 shows a modified form of snare which includes in addition to theaforementioned features a barb 76 which is secured to the spreader 64and may be outer end portion of the bolt 70. The barb may be used toactually kill an animal or to merely assist in holding the animal fromescaping the loop.

in the operation 'of the preferred embodiment, the snare is cocked orloaded by the operator telescopically sliding the members 10, 12relatively together until the hook'26 drops over the ring 48. Thisaction will compress the spring 18 between plug 42 and bearing 58,storing energy in the spring.

At this stage the loop 16 is expanded, as shown in FIG. 2. The

safety cam 36 is then rotated so the lobe 40 abuts against the underside of the latch to prevent accidental triggering. When theoperator'desires to use the snare, as for example when landing a fish F,the safety cam is rotated into the position shown by solid lines in FIG.5, the loop 16 is placed over the tail of the fish; and trigger 20 isdepressed, lifting hook 26 out from engagement with ring 48and freeingthe spring 18. The spring 18 then forces the members 10, 12telescopically apart, and in so doing decreases the size of loop 16,causing it to tighten about the fish, as shown in FIG. 3.

it is to be understood that while the snare construction which isillustrated and described constitutes the preferred form of theinvention, it is capable of variation and modification without departingfrom the invention. Forexample, the

' cable could be one of the various forms of wire rope or could be ametal or plastic strap, or a nylon cord. Telescoping members need not beused but rather the cable clamp could be slidable in a single tubularmember. Other variations are also apparent. it is to be understood,therefore, that the scope of theinvention is not to be limited by theprecise details which are illustrated and described but only be properinterpretation ofthe appended claims.

vlclaim:

1. A snare for handheld use, comprising: an elongated first memberhaving a handle;

a tubular second member telescopically mounted on said first member,said tubular member being slidable along said first member between acocked position wherein it is slid toward said handle and an extendedposition wherein it is spaced from said handle;

releasable holding means for holding said tubular member in said cockedposition;

means for biasing said tubular member into said extendc position;

flexible line means slidably received in said tubular member and havingat least one end fixed to said first member, said line means forming aloose loop when said tubular member is in said cocked position and-atight loop when said tubular member is in said extended position; and

hand operated means adjacent said handle for releasing said holdingmeans to cause said biasing means to extend said tubular member.

2. The snare defined by claim 1. further including a spacer membersecured to said tubular member and having laterally spaced openings forreceiving said line means adjacent said loop.

3. The snare defined by claim 1, wherein said holding means includes acatch member secured to said tubular member and said releasing meansincludes a releasable latch secured to said-first member adjacent saidhandle.

4. The snare defined by claim 3, further including safety cam means onsaid first member which is selectively rotatable into a position inwhich it prevents operation ofsaid latch.

5. The snare defined by claim 1, wherein said biasing means is acompression spring having an inner end abutting said first member, saidtubular member including a guide member fixed to said tubular memberadjacent said loop, and said spring also having an outer end abuttingsaid guide member.

6. The snare definedby claim 5, wherein said line means has both endssecured to said first member.

7. A compression spring powered snare for hand held use, comprising:

an elongated first member having a handle at one end;

a snare line having first and second ends secured to the firstmember'and a loop portionbetween said ends;

a tubular second member telescopically surrounding both I said'firstmember and a portion of said snare line;

. a guide member at the endof the second member farthest from saidhandle, said guide member having passage space therein for the two sidesof the looped snare line, with the line having a closed bight portionoutboardly of said guide member;

compression spring within said second member, and at one of its endscontacting the guide member and its other end contacting thc'firstmember, said compression spring serving to bias the second membertowards an extended position in which the snare line makes a tight loopoutwardly of said second membcrrand releasable lock means for holdingthe second member in a retracted position relatively toward said handle,in which position the snare line makes a loose loop outwardly of saidsecond member, said releasable lock means including trigger meansadjacent the handle and positioned to be operable by the hand whichholds the handle.

8. The snare defined by claim 7, wherein said releasable lock meanscomprises a ring on the second member and a catch on said first memberhaving a hook portion for engaging said ring.

